Crime Stoppers is a civilian, non profit, charitable organization that brings together the community, the police and the media in the fight against crime.

This situational awareness was vital and helped police make sensible and proactive strategic decisions. For instance, after the game, rival fans faced off outside the ground, separated only by a flimsy fence.

PC Tom Gee, UAS Accountable Manager for Derbyshire Constabulary’s Police Drone Unit, described the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced as a game-changer for public safety, praising the aircraft’s upgraded thermal and visual sensors, which he says make for more confident searches and reliable data collection. Read the full story here.

James joined heliguy™ in 2018 following a 13-year stint in print and online journalism, having worked on regional and weekly newspaper titles. He is responsible for spearheading heliguy™'s content strategy and social media delivery. James collaborates with DJI Enterprise's European marketing team to coordinate and produce case studies and helps organise events and webinars.

Meanwhile** our operational success continues with our new @DJIEnterprise #M30. Video from Sunday shows two High Risk Missing Persons, located in the dark, in a field by the A15 #thermal #camera. This #drone find ensured quick safeguarding & helps free up @LincsPolice officers. pic.twitter.com/Vv0h1bPLwK

Take Lincolnshire Police, for example. Using an unmanned aircraft with thermal capabilities, the drone team landed its first prosecution by uncovering a professional cannabis growing operation.

What arepolice dronesused for

In its own right, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is a powerful police drone, with impressive capabilities for its size, including a high-resolution thermal camera.

...while this image shows how the drone provided real-time information about the placing of bags of aggregate, by RAF Chinooks, and spotted for any breaches.

However, the drone footage of the crowd meant that police could see the situation developing early and were able to redistribute ground forces to the trouble spot and de-escalate the situation.

Derbyshire Constabulary deployed its fleet of DJI drones to monitor the extent of the situation and patrol the evacuated town following reports of attempted burglaries at empty properties.

Not only does this speed up the data-collection process, but also means that roads can be reopened faster and cuts down on officer on-scene times.

Meanwhile, the Z15 spotlight provides a powerful, targeted aerial light source, ideal for a range of police missions, including public safety, law enforcement and searches for missing people.

The L1 can be used with DJI Terra for a one-stop post-processing solution, helping you generate 3D point clouds and accuracy reports.

Our forward-facing cameras are connected to a microphone an officer wears and captures all audio communication when the in-car camera system is active.

Additional modules can be integrated with the M30 Series, such as the LP12 loudspeaker/spotlight, which is an ideal accessory for police/public safety, for operations such as search and rescue and ground communication.

The L1 can generate detailed maps and penetrate dense vegetation thanks to its multi-return capability; a highly-efficient and accurate solution; and can generate point clouds in live view to provide immediate insights.

In just a single flight, drones can collect hundreds of images to create accurate and detailed 2D maps and 3D models for thorough accident investigation, including measuring skid marks, examining damage and streamlining communication between investigation teams.

Swappable Payloads: Compatibility with a range of payloads, including thermal, zoom, LiDAR and photogrammetry sensors, as well as loud speakers and bright spotlights. The M300 RTK can also carry up to three payloads at once.

LiDAR is a highly-effective tool for the police. It is highly accurate, highly automated, can be deployed at night, and is particularly effective in areas of dense vegetation. It can be used for a range of applications, such as crime and crash scene investigation, search and rescue, and following natural disasters and fires.

The videos are retained based on the record retention associated to the type of occurrence that is captured. For example, criminal matters will be retained longer than provincial ones (e.g. traffic stops).

The training is split into two course options: The A2 CofC or the GVC. You can find out more by reading our in-depth guide to UK drone laws. heliguy™ recommends that the GVC is the most comprehensive course for police forces.

The system also includes an Automated License Plate Reader which will allow officers to be notified of drivers/vehicles that should not be on the road.

The ES-DOT course is specifically designed for police forces, delivering the CAA-approved syllabus in a closed-course environment, with a focus on public safety.

heliguy™ also offers CPD (Continuing Professional Development) training for the emergency services and fixed-wing tuition, as part of other offerings.

Police drones enable officers to collect data and obtain real-time vital situational awareness, quicker and safer. It is also significantly cheaper than calling on the National Police Air Service helicopter.

How to spot apolicedrone at night

heliguy™ has designed a robust, collision-proof cage to protect the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced - particularly useful for confined space inspection. The video below, courtesy of London Fire Brigade, shows the cage's resistance to bumps and collisions.

In addition to capturing evidence for court, the videos provide an excellent source for training (what went well, and what could be improved upon). At times we will be able to release video footage that may be of public interest or to assist with an investigation.

Pros and Cons ofdrones inlaw enforcement

The cameras are activated by several means, some automated and some manual. Once a camera has started to function, an Officer is required to record why they are deactivating the camera.

Officers are required, by our procedures, to notify people that they are being video / audio recorded when the cameras are active.

Cameras have been installed and officers have been trained on the system which is in all marked and some unmarked cruisers.  The system has two recording devices which are attached to the police vehicle.  The devices are set to record audio and video for front facing activity outside the vehicle and within the prisoner-control area of the rear seat.

These series of shots showed how the drone with zoom camera was able to obtain a crystal-clear view of the damage, from afar...

Surveillance by drone is an important and valuable part of policing - but Forces will not deploy unmanned aircraft to simply spy for no good reason.

Zoom Camera: 48 MP 1/2'' CMOS Sensor; 5x-16x Optical Zoom, 200x Max. Hybrid Zoom; Photo Resolution: 8K; Video Resolution: 4K/30fps.

Canpoliceusedroneswithout a warrant

“This is important technology for your police service as it will help with transparency, accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness,” says Chief Stuart Betts. “But most importantly it’s about safety for the community and safety for officers.”

The cameras in our police vehicles are manufactured by Axon. Essentially, they are high definition dashcams made specifically for law enforcement. The cameras we are using are integrated with an Automated License Plate Reader that is continuously scanning vehicle license plates. Both of these technologies have existed for many years, but this all-in-one integration makes the entire system more effective.

On the subject of maps and models, the DJI Zenmuse P1 45MP full-frame photogrammetry camera can be used to build highly-detailed digital assets - especially useful for crash-scene investigation.

The M300 RTK is a rugged and heavy-duty police drone solution. The DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced meanwhile is a lightweight, portable and quickly deployable aircraft: Ideal for deploying as a first responder drone, or using on-the-go.

We have been able to obtain this technology thanks to a provincial grant. There will be annual operating costs, but without the grants, we would not have been able to afford this technology or bring it to the streets of Peterborough, Lakefield and Cavan-Monaghan.

Unlike the M300 RTK, the M2EA has a fixed payload array, and is not waterproof, but packs plenty into its small frame, making it a powerful portable solution for the police.

You can find out how these drones compare by reading our M300 RTK vs M30 Series vs Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced comparison blog or scroll down for an overview of each platform.

The Service has created a video to show the public and the media what the cameras will see in and around the car. View it here: https://youtu.be/C3ngcRHNKKA

Policeusingdronesfor surveillance

The Force has said that it allowed them to communicate with people in a way 'not previously possible'. Read the full review.

Specific concerns about privacy can be directed to the chiefofpoliceoffice@peterborough.ca and they will be directed to the appropriate person to respond.

RESULT** High Risk Missing Person in their 70s with dementia located today, by our brand new @lincspolice #drone in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire. Officers guided in misper safe guarded. Inc 268 19/06/22 @DJIGlobal @DJIEnterprise #M30 #dronesforgood pic.twitter.com/rXHAbKfdFd

In one example of using drones for crowd control, Norfolk Police deployed unmanned aircraft on derby day between Norwich City and Ipswich at Carrow Road.

The CZZN Loud Speaker can be used by police in a range of scenarios, including remote communication with people following a major disaster, casualties or missing peple, or suspects.

While in operation, the video is stored locally on an encrypted Hard Drive in each police vehicle. When the vehicle returns to the station, the video is uploaded to the secure storage dedicated for this purpose.

"The drone provided us with visuals that couldn’t really have been done in any other way. Yes, the National Police Air Service helicopter could have done this, but this would have been at a cost of about £3,000 per hour. Instead, we did this with the drone as part of our routine duties."

Drones can be deployed by police for a range of observation missions, such as scouting key areas or suspects, obtaining vital situational awareness to help with deployment tactics, and monitoring crowd behaviour and movement. They are particularly useful for investigating suspects - especially those who could be armed - while maintaining a safe distance.

Police dronesat night

Crime Stoppers provides citizens with a vehicle to anonymously supply the police with information about a crime or potential crime of which they have knowledge. Cash rewards are offered to people who call the program and their information leads to an arrest.

The DJI M30 Series is a great drone for the police and public safety: Featuring the performance of the M300 RTK but packing it into a more portable, lightweight, smaller frame, more akin to the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced.

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The ability to swap payloads makes the M300 RTK an attractive proposition for the police - from using thermal to detect heat sources during a missing person mission, to LiDAR for building maps in highly-vegetated areas.

The camera captures all images within their field of vision. If the video is to be released, for court or other purposes, we will utilize technology to assist with blurring faces of those people that are not involved in the matter being investigated.

Once the cameras are activated, there will be 30 seconds of footage captured prior to activation to help with additional context. The 30 seconds of footage is not audio recorded.

We have created strong rules around what can and cannot be recorded. Unlike body worn cameras, these cameras only record what is in view of the vehicle or activity in the back seat. Many vehicles operated by the public are equipped with personal dashcams, that are recording without anyone knowing. The difference with ours is that we will advise you when they are recording.

The type of training police drone units require depends on the type of drone and operations the Force is planning to conduct.

The heliguy™ in-house training team - which consists fixed-wing and rotary-drone specialists, including former Armed Forces personnel - has trained more than 3,000 candidates, including more than 30 UK emergency services.

More and more Forces are embracing UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) to fight crime, keep their communities safe, and collect vital information.

As part of the launch of this technology, the Peterborough Police Service has developed a procedure on their use.  The document will guide how long the video is kept, how it is used for training and media purposes and who has access to it.

PC Tom Gee said: "If we didn't have the drone, somebody would have had to go up close to the damage - scaling down on a rope down the dam to have a look and putting their life at risk."

The drone offered a quick, cheap and readily-available solution which was impossible for fans to take counter-measures, and offered unique and better views. Sent into the sky, it scanned the crowd and sent live pictures to officers on the ground.

Every second counts, and drones can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively, reaching inaccessible areas and providing vital information about the crisis in real-time - all while keeping officers safe.

This video, captured by the H20T, shows how the camera can be used to display a thermal and visual feed, side-by-side, in real-time. Police can often be deployed to assist fire and rescue crews.

Police deploy drones for many reasons: Search and rescue, law enforcement, disaster response, and crash scene investigation;

Lead pilot Sergeant Paul Terry said: “If the drone hadn’t of been there, he wouldn’t have been seen. It’s very likely he wouldn’t have been located that night and his life was saved because of that tactic.”

How far canpolice dronessee

A Force spokesman said: "We turned up and flew the drone 400ft across an open field, before hovering 50m from the property - and the heat source was obvious. The filming from the drone took one minute and 20 seconds, and it was only in the air for five minutes from start to finish.

The DJI 30 Series has an enhanced IP rating of IP55 and a 41 minute flight time. The payload on the DJI M30 and M30T is fixed, but has high-performance capabilities:

Thermal Imaging Camera (M30T only): Equivalent Focal Length: 40 mm; Resolution: 640 x 512 or Infrared Image Super-resolution Mode: 1280 x 1024; Frame Rate: 30fps; Measurement Accuracy: ±2°C or ±2%.

“The Peterborough Police Service is committed to ensuring the safety of its citizens and have developed a series of Frequently Asked Questions,” adds Chief Betts.  “We have also developed a webpage with a feedback form. I have worked in an organization where this type of technology was used, and it proved to be invaluable as a source for capturing events that take place on our roadways. It’s hard to dispute something when it’s captured on video. In terms of accountability, I have used it to verify or refute claims of officer behaviour.”

Deploying UAS for accident reconstruction cuts down the evidence-gathering process - taking less than 30 minutes for a job that used to take three or four hours.

Our vehicles are also equipped with a camera focused on the backseat of each vehicle. This is the area where people in custody are seated.